The Origins of Mathematics​ü

The origins of mathematics accompanied the evolution of social systems.

Many, many social needs require calculation and numbers. Conversely,
the calculation of numbers enables more complex relations and
interactions between peoples. Numbers and calculations with them
require a well organized operational system. Such systems were per-
haps the earliest models of complex rigorous systems. As we will see,
not just one but several number systems come to us from antiquity.
However, as interesting as the basic notions of counting may be, the
origins of mathematics include more than just enumeration, counting,
and arithmetic. Thus, also considered are other issues of mathematics
to be considered.

Number provides a common link between societies and a basis for

communication and trade. This chapter illustrates various entries into
our ancient knowledge of how our number system began. Examples
range from prehistory to contemporary. The ancient evidence is easy to
accept, but the modern examples yield more conclusions. It is remark-
able that even though mathematics achieved its first zenith twenty three
hundred years ago, more than a hundred generations, there are peoples
today that still count with their fingers or with stones, that have no real
language for numbers, and moreover have not the general concept of
number beyond specific examples. There is every reason to believe that
in the future, near or distant, there will exist a far more credible theory
for the origin of counting than there may ever for the development of
geometric proof, the PythagoreanTheorem in particular.

1 ​The basis of computation

The human needs that inspired mankind‘s first efforts at mathematics,

arithmetic in particular were

/
counting,
 /
calculations,

/
measurement

ü ​c​\​2000003, G. Donald

Allen

Origins of Mathematics ​2

For example,

/ ​The worth of a herdsman cannot be known unless some basics of

counting are known.

/ ​An inheritance cannot be distributed unless certain facts about

division (fractions) are known.

/ ​A temple cannot be built unless certain facts about triangles,

squares,
and volumes are known.

From practical needs such as these, mathematics was born. One view is
that the core of early mathematics is based upon two simple questions.

/ ​How many?

/ ​How much?

This is the ​cardinal number ​viewpoint, which we will support through-

out this chapter. The alternative ​ordinal ​basis is very attractive, with
numerous supporting arguments.

1.1 Ordinals

Another view is that mathematics may have an even earlier basis on

ordinals used perhaps for rituals in religious practices or simply the
pecking order for eating the fresh game. It is a compelling argument
 that long before early man had need to count his sheep or cattle, his
primitively organized social had simple rituals based on rank and pri-
ority. And not just who was first but also second, third, fourth, and so
on, likely to most members of every group. Such basic questions are

thus:​/ ​Who eats first, second, etc?

/ ​What comes first, etc?

There is ample observational evidence that socialized animals of

diverse groups, say the baboon and red deer, have some rudimentary
sense of order of precedence, called ​dominance hierarchy​. The objects
of the

Origins of Mathematics ​3

order or hierarchy are wide ranging also, for example, for grooming,
for breeding, for eating, and the like.

Later on, the needs of counting and assigning numbers to sets of objects
required more sophisticated calculation techniques, i.e. the beginnings
of mathematics. There seems to be little direct path from ordinals to
actual arithmetic. So, while ordinals may offer a plausible case for first
origins, the evolution to cardinals was necessary before calculations
became possible. Therefore, we will pursue the cardinal numbers
viewpoint.

2 ​The Origin of Counting

Two possibilities for the origin of counting have been posited. One is
that counting spontaneously arose throughout the world more or less
independently from place to place, tribe to tribe. The other is that
counting was invented just once and it spread throughout the world
from that source. The latter view, maintained by Abraham Seidenberg,
is based upon a remarkable number of similarities of number systems
throughout the world. For example, that odd numbers are male and
even numbers are female seems to be virtually universal. (Of course
this distinction has been lost in modern times.) Seidenberg‘s
 anthropological studies further suggest that counting —was frequently
the central feature of a rite, and that participants in ritual were
numbered.“ Other mythical, ritualistic, and etymological evidence is
also given.

What might be suggested from this unique and single origination of counting
viewpoint is that the human mind was fairly uniform at this time
(100,000 - 20,000 BCE), was ready for it, and moreover ready for it in
about the same way. Tallying and ordering and counting originally
seems to have served very similar purposes regardless of locale. On the
other hand, these are exactly the same functions for which counting is
primitively used today, giving credence to the alternative viewpoint
that ​all ​uses were discovered early on and this has just not changed
over dozens of millennia.

Origins of Mathematics ​4

3 ​How Many

As society formed and organized, the need to express quantity

emerged. Even at this early level, perhaps as early as 250,000 years
ago, there must have begun a transition from sameness to similarity of
numbers.

one wolf ​R ​one sheep two dogs ​R ​wolf ​R

two rabbits five warriors ​R ​five spears ​R
five fingers

This abstraction of the concept of number was a major step toward

modern mathematics.

From artifacts even more than 5,000 years old, notches on bones have been
noted. Were these to count seasons, kills, children? We don‘t know.
But the need to denote quantity must have been significant.

The English language, as others, has quantifier to indicate plural- ity

school ​of fish

 pack ​of wolves

flock o​ f pigeons

Examples of counting and computing. ​Other examples of count- ing and

enumerations reveal how enumeration may have begun. They vary
widely, illustrating a potential multitude of alternative origins for
counting and arithmetic. This is significant for our brief study of these
ideas: to consider, to understand, and to appreciate that our present
arithmetic and counting was not a direct and continuous stream of ad-
vance. Indeed, no theory, no science, no exploration, and moreover, no
human endeavor has ever so been.

1. The Indians of the Tamanaca on the Orinoco River.

Origins of Mathematics ​5

Number Word
0-4 designated words 5 —whole
hand“ 6 —one on the other

hand“ ​...10 —both hands“ ...20

—one Indian“ ...

Examples of peoples designating number-words as parts of the

human anatomy are universal. (See Ifrah and Swetz.) Such enu-
meration may subconsciously become part abstract and part con-
crete. Eventually, the number-word emerges as a number without
its anatomical association.

2. The Abipones, a tribe of Paraguayan Indians had a certain number

sense, though they had little by way of number words or arith- metic.
In the 18​th ​century a famine caused their migration for food. Their
caravan was long and they were surrounded by their many, many
dogs. When, in the evening they camped, they knew if even one was
missing and went to lengths to find the missing animal. Similarly,
 they knew the size of a herd by knowing the space they occupied
when they were lined up abreast. Their num- ber words, one and
two, were used in combination to form larger numbers, one-two for
three, etc. Therefore, the sense they had for larger numbers,
observable precise, was not verbal.

3. The Dammara tribe in Africa (19th century). In trading of tobacco

sticks for sheep, the tribesman knew the equivalence:
2 sticks = 1 sheep However, he was unable to cipher
correctly the formula
4 sticks = 2 sheep So, at the very early stage of counting, numerical
equivalences such as

two times two equals four

are simply not obvious, and moreover just not used.

Origins of Mathematics ​6

4. Certain Australian aboriginal tribes counted to two only, with any

number larger than two called simply as much or many.

5. Other South American Indians on the tributaries of the Amazon,

like the Abipones, were equally lacking in number words. They
could count to six but had no words for three, four, five, or six. For
example, four was expressed as two-two.

6. The bushmen of Africa could count to ten with just two words.

ten​φ2+2+2+2+2

For larger numbers the descriptive phrases became too long. The
ease of number expression should not be underestimated in
impor- tance for the role of numerical facility.

7. The Vedda tribesman of Sri Lanka, when counting coconuts,

would collect sticks and associate one stick with each coconut. When
he added a new stick he would say, —That is one.“ When asked how
many coconuts he had, he would only point to his pile of sticks,
saying, —That many.“ The Vedda have no words to express
 quantities. For him counting was this one-to-one association.

8. There is an ancient account of trading that reveals another method

of counting which supports the one-to-one correspondence con- cept.
In the ​History ​by Herodotus (c. 484 - c. 424 BCE)​2 ​we find in Book
IV this account of transactions between the Carthaginians and a tribe
in Libya,

The Carthaginians also relate the following: – There is a country in Libya,

and a nation, beyond the Pillars of Heracles, which they
are wont to visit, where they no sooner arrive but
forthwith they unlade their wares, and having disposed
them after an orderly fashion along the

O​The translation we reference here is that of George Rawlinson. Herodotus was a Greek historian ​ that came
from a Greek family of position of Halicarnassus, a Greek colony in Asia Minor. Long before the
defeat of the Persians, Herodotus. living then under Persian tyranny, took up travel and reading.
The published consequence, ​History​, published sometime after 430 but before 425 reveals
complete familiarity with the literature and an uncanny sense of observation and inquiry. While
​ ained him fame, it also caused him political di​ffi​culties at his home. However, he
the ​History g
was well received in Athens, where he enjoyed the company of the cityYs literary elite. One
lasting feature of HerodotusY ​History i​ s its narrative style, which allows for dialogue and even
speeches by leading historical features, an aspect of historiography that persists to this day. One
of his most frequently quoted statements is at once poetic and completely accurate. Said
Herodotus, oEgypt is the gift of the Nile.;

Origins of Mathematics ​7

beach, leave them, and returning aboard their ships, raise

a great smoke. The natives, when they see the smoke,
come down to the shore, and, laying out to view so much
gold as they think the worth of the wares, withdraw to a
distance. The Carthaginans upon this come ashore and
look. If they think the gold enough, they take it and go
their way; but if it does not seem to them sufficient, they
go aboard ship once more, and wait patiently. Then the
others approach and add to their gold, till the Carthagini-
ans are content. Neither part deals unfairly by the other;
for they themselves never touch the gold till it comes up
to the worth of their goods, nor do the natives every
carry off the goods till the gold is taken away.

What we see here is a type of equivalence in a trade transaction.

 Do the natives regard the —ensemble“ as individual items and
add an amount of gold for each one, or is there a multiplication of
the number of items by a unit cost?

Even earlier records

9. The earliest records of counting do not come from words but from
physical evidence – scratches on sticks or stones or bones. For
example, the oldest “mathematical artifact“ currently known was
discovered in the mountains between South Africa and Swaziland. It
is a piece of baboon fibula with 29 notches, dated 35,000 CB. Old
stone age peoples had devised a system of tallying by groups as early
as 30,000 BCE. There is an example of the shinbone from a young
wolf found in Czechoslovakia in 1937. It is about 7 inches long, and
is engraved with 57 deeply cut notches, of about equal length,
arranged in groups of 5. (Modern systems!!!) The oldest record of
primes is possibly the ​Ishango bone​. Currently at the Musee
d‘Histoire Naturelle in Brussels has been dated about 6500 CB.
Having three rows of notches, and one of the columns has 11, 13, 17,
and 19 notches, we may ask if primality was intended. Very
probably not. What is more likely is that these notches formed a
primitive calendar system.

Origins of Mathematics ​8
 Diagram of the Ishango bone from the Brussels museum

See http://www.naturalsciences.be/expo/ishango/en/index.html
for the Museum page on this remarkable object.

10. The first forms of fired clay tokens were used by Neolithic people
to record products of farming (e.g. oil and grain) at sites near present
day Syria and Iran, 8,000 BCE. Tokens are believed to have been
instrumental in separating the ideas of number and written word. Such
tokens were in use up until about 1,500 BCE.

Origins of Mathematics ​9
 Complex tokens from Susa, Iran: from left to right a parabola
(garment?), triangle (metal?), ovoid (oil?), disk (sheep), biconoid
(honey?), rectangle (?), parabola (garment?). Courtesy Musee du
Louvre, Department des Antiquities Orientales.

11. There is other evidence dating from 8,500 B.C. on the shores of
Lake Edward (in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda). An
incised bone fossil contains groups of notches in three definite
columns. Odd and unbalanced, it does not appear decorative. One set
of is arranged in groups of 11, 21, 19 and 9 notches. Another is
arranged in groups of 3, 6, 4, 8, 10, 5, 5, 7 notches. Many have
conjectured on the meaning of these groups. (Lunar months, doubling,
halving, ...)

The ealiest record

In 2002, at the very southern tip of South Africa, scientists have

recently uncovered in the Blombos cave some paleolithic art that
dates back 70,000 years. That is more than 35,000 years older
than any other ‘stone age‘ art. Blombos Cave is located about 300
km east of Cape Town in a cliff directly above the Indian Ocean.
About 90,000 years ago, when the sea was at its present level,
(anatomically) modern Homo sapiens lived in the cave, living off
the harvest of the sea and land - and it must have been a bountiful.
Numerous artifacts have been found, including the oldest know
bone tools, shellfish, hearths, and work areas. The age dates for

Origins of Mathematics ​10

 the Middle Stone Age layers of between 90,000-100,000 years
was obtained by the thermoluminescence, electron spin resonance
and amino-acid racemization methods. This discovery is
remarkable for several reasons, the most notable being that it
places ”modern behavior‘ at some earlier date than had been
previously imagined. Another reason, and significant to
mathematics, is that the two pieces of iron ore ochre rock found
are decorated with geometric patterns. See the pictures below.

An interesting question, and this is completely open to conjec-

ture, is whether this pattern had some mathematicatical or geo-
metrical meaning beyond the natural appeal of the design. There
are a number of websites on this site and the so-called Blom- bos
stones. The pictures​3 ​above are from the website with URL
http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SU/SU102001/caveart.html
. When we consider the Indians of North America, we will also
observe more sophisticated but not dissimilar designs. There is

)​See also, Blombos Cave and the Middle Stone Age of Africa, dYErrico, Francesco, Christo0 pher​ Henshilwood
and Peter Nillssen. 200ü. An engraved bone fragement from c. 70,0000 year0old Middle Stone
Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa: Implications for the origin of symbolism and language.
Antiquity 75:30903ü8.
Origins of Mathematics ​11

ample reason to conjecture an earlier step to the development of

mathematics than counting is rooted in early art. From art comes
the evolution to patterns, and from patterns, separate unital ob-
jects such as criss-crosses become visible and ponderable.
Perhaps withing the pattern of the Blombos stone, individual
tokens were placed that represented events or other objects of
daily life. Below we see examples of cave paintings dating to
15,000 BCE that reveal early patterns. Such patterns occur even
today in art. They form significant constructs in our mathematics,
as well.

Cave paintings, c. 15,000 BC

Brazil France

From from Richard Leakey‘s book ​Origin‘s Reconsidered w ​ e

have the following quote about the cave paintings in the Lascaux
cave in France.

The most obvious interpretation of the scene in the Shaft

is that it is connected with hunting magic, perhaps the re-
enactment of a hunting accident. But the most obvious
explanation may not be the correct one, for three pairs of
dots separate the rhinoceros from the rest of the scene.
Simple in themselves, and perhaps without import, the
dots are just one example of an element in Lascaux art,
 and in all cave art, that I have not yet mentioned. This is
the profusion of nonrepresentational, geometric pat-
terns. In addition to dots, there are grids and chevrons,

Origins of Mathematics ​12

curves and zigzags, and more. Many kinds of patterns

are to be found, sometimes superimposed on animal
images, sometimes separate from them. The coincidence
of these geometric motifs with representational images is
one of the most puzzling aspects of Upper Paleolithic
art​4​.

Conjecturing without bound we consider that such primitive pat-

terns may have emerged as a visual analogue of sound patterns.

Some Etymology.

The words we use reveals to a great extent the origins of counting, grouping,
and general record keeping. Some terms have at first glance unlikely
origins, often coming from the process of counting, not the count itself.
However, a consistency emerges when the ensemble of evidence is
presented.

/ ​The German word ​schreiben c​ omes by way of Latin and Greek

back to the word ​gr ́aphein, originally meaning to scrape. Yet
Germanic peoples had their own words for inscribing symbols,
ritzen ​meaning —to scratch“, and the Anglo-Saxon ​writan.​

/ ​The English word ​tally h​ as a long heritage, It comes directly

from the French verb ​tailler,​ —to cut“. The medieval Latin root
word is talare. The Romans used the word ​talea​, a —cut twig.“ Note
also the English word ​write c​ omes from the Anglo-saxon ​writan​,
—to scratch“.

/ ​Even the word book takes its name from the word ​Buche ​or
beach wood. The medieval manuscript call a ​codex c​ omes from the
Latin ​caudex ​or —log of wood.“
 / ​Our word ​calculate c​ omes from the Latin ​calculus,​ pebble.

/ ​The English ​thrice,​ just like the Latin ​ter,​ has the double
meaning: three times, and many. There is a plausible connection
between the Latin ​tres,​ three, and ​trans,​ beyond. The same can be
said regarding the French ​tr ́ es, very, and ​trois,​ three.
É​Origins Reconsidered​, Leakey, Richard E and Roger Lewin. Doubleday (ü992)

Origins of Mathematics ​13

/ ​Some primitive languages have words for every color but have
no word for color. Others have all the number words but no word
for number. The same is true for other words. Can you give and
example? (e.g. animal, bird, tree fruit)

/ ​English is very rich in native expressions for types of collections:

flock, herd, set, lot, bunch, to name a few. Yet the words ​collection
and ​aggregate a​ re of foreign extraction. From Bertrand Russell we
have the quote, —It must have required many ages to discover that a
brace o​ f pheasants and a ​couple o​ f days were both instances of the
number two.“ Today we have many terms to describe the idea of
two: couple, set, team, twin, brace, etc.

Tallyin
g

Tally sticks, a notched stick, have been used since the beginning of counting.
Their use has been universal. Tallying is the most basic form of
keeping a local record about the larger world. Before there was paper,
and before paper became inexpensive, records were kept in a variety of
ways. We will see the Babylonians use clay tablets and the Egyptians
use stones. Both require a certain skill to create. Tally sticks can and
were used by all peoples that have a ready piece of wood and
something sharp. But it was not limited to —primitive“ peoples. The
acceptance of tally sticks as promissory notes or bills of exchange
reached all levels of development in the British Exchequer tallies. (12​th
century onwards.) It took an act of parliament in 1846 to abolish the
practice.
 An anecdote: The ​double tally stick w​ as used by the Bank of England.
If someone lent the Bank money, the amount was cut on a stick and the
stick was then cut in half – with the grain of the wood. The piece
retained by the Bank was called the ​foil​, and the other half was called
the ​stock​. It was the receipt issued by the Bank. The holder of said
became a —stockholder“ and owned —bank stock“. When the holder
would return the stock was carefully checked against the foil; if they
agreed, the owner would be paid the correct amount in kind or
currency. A written certificate that was presented for remittance and
checked against its security later became a —check“. (See, David
Burton, The History of Mathematics, An Introduction, McGraw-Hill.)

Origins of Mathematics ​14

Double Tally
Stick

Note how the tally marks match up exactly on the two split sticks. With
forgery almost an impossibility, records kept using double tally sticks
were very, very secure. It is no wonder they persisted so long.

Tallying on a bone or stick is both ancient and modern. A more ancient form
of counting was done by means of knots tied in a cord – though
counting is carried out to this day by knots or beads. Both objects and
days were so tallied. From King Darius of Persia, we have this
command given to the Ionians:

—The King took a leather thong and tying sixty knots in it called together
the Ionian tyrants and spoke thus to them: —Untie every day
one of the knots; if I do not return before the last day to
which the knots will hold out, then leave your station and
return to your several homes.“
 ​ ere also used by the Incas of Peru.
Multicolored knotted cords, called ​quipus w
The conquering Spaniards noted that in each village there were four
quipus k​ eepers, who maintained complex accounts and performed a
function similar to today‘s city treasurer, historian, and secretary. The
quipus, the only system used by the Incas, were usually 50 cm in
length and with braids up to 40 cm extending. They could contain both
alphabetic and numeric knot representations. For example, the number
six is represented by a six-looped knot. It is of interest to note that
quipus form an alternative to our traditional book/ledger format. They
are essentially nonlinear, a structure that the Internet is allowing the
rest of us to explore. Modern Internet expressions such as a threaded
discussion is a “quipu-like“ structure.

Origins of Mathematics ​15

In the figure above, the pompom-like image is a quipu book, a rather

dramatic departure from traditional codex format. It is supposed to
contain the entire known history of the world, from creation to the 16th
century, written on separate strips of paper. The picture below shows
an Indian displaying a quipu. It has been suggested that in addition to
their use for storage of numbers that they may also have been adapted
to convey the sounds of the Inca language.

Origins of Mathematics ​16

Knotted braids are used for record keeping even today, say by Bolivian
herdsman. They were once used by the Chinese, as evidenced in a call
by the philosopher Lao-tse, in the 5​th ​century BCE, to return to the
simple ways of doing things such as for example tying knots in cords
to serve as writing.

History is replete with examples of knotted cords being used for record
keeping, particularly numerical records. Even into the twentieth
century Miller‘s knots were used by millers to record transactions with
bakers. Pacific islanders kept track of wages owed by knotted reeds.
Tibetan prayer-strings and the rosary are religious forms of number-
strings. The heritage is old and ubiquitous.

/ ​Systems of
enumeration.

Primitive: ​notches, sticks, stones

Chinese: ​symbols for 1, 10, 100, 1,000

Egyptians: ​symbols for 1, 10, 100, 1,000, ... 1,0000,000.

Babylonians: ​two symbols only–​cuneiform

Greeks: ​alphabetical denotations, plus special symbols, also a system

similar to the Egyptian with special symbols

Roman: ​Roman numerals, I,V,X,L,C,D,M.

Arabs: ​Ten special symbols for numbers.

Modern: ​Ten special symbols for numbers.

/ ​Methods of
ciphering.

Devices: Abacus, counting boards.

Symbolic: Arithmetic.
 Bases for numbering systems

/ ​binary – early

/ ​ternary – early

Origins of Mathematics ​17

/ ​quinary – early

/
decimal

/
vigesimal

/
sexagesimal

/ ​combinations of
several

A study among American Indians showed that about one third used a decimal

scheme; one third

used a quinary/decimal scheme; fewer than a third used a binary scheme; and

about one fifth used a vigesimal system.

and a ternary scheme was used by only one percent.

HOW MUCH?

When counting or asking how many, we can limit discussions to whole

positive

integers. When asking ​how much​, integers no longer suffice. Examples:

Given 17 seedlings, how can they be planted in five rows?

Given 20 talons of gold, how can they be distribution to three

 persons
?

Given 12 pounds of salt, how can it be divided into five equal

containers
?

​ e are led directly to the need for ​frac- tions​.​Another

When asking ​how much w

how much ​question is connected with ​measurement​.

Where
?

Origins of Mathematics ​18

/ C​ onstruction. To build granaries, or ovens to bake bread, or pyra-

mids, or temples we need formulas for quantity, or area or
volume.

/ ​Planting. To divide arable plots we need formulas for plane area

and those for
seasons.

/ ​Astronomy. To study the motions of stars we need angular and

temporal
measurement
.

/ ​Taxes and commerce. To properly assess taxes, we need ways to

compute
percentages
(fractions).

To consider questions of ​how much ​we need more advanced num- bers

and​arithmetic; we also need concepts of ​geometry​.

4 References

In addition to general references, the following may be useful.

1. J. Bogoshi, K. Naidoo and J. Webb, “The oldest mathematical

artifact,“ Math. Gazette, 71:458 (1987) 294.

2. J. de Heinzelin, “Ishango,“ Scientific American, 206:6 (June

1962)
105œ11
6.

3. G. Joseph, The crest of the peacock, Penguin Books, 1991.

4. A. Marshack, The roots of civilization, McGraw-Hill, 1972.

5. Seidenberg, A. The ritual origin of counting. Arch. Hist. Exact

Sci. 2 (1962b), 1-40.

6. J. Shurkin, Engines of the mind: a history of the computer, W. W.

Norton & Co., 1984.

Origins of Mathematics ​19

7. Swetz, Frank J. Bodily Mathematics. In Swetz, Frank J. From

Five Fingers to Infinity. A Journey through the History of
Mathematics. Open Court, Chicago, 1994.